Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Aches & Pains

You know old age is creeping up on you when you start having aches and pains in places those dear old folks (who had since gone to meet their Maker) used to moan about.

And what do these twinges tell you? That soon enough, you too would be that way headed, concluding your life on this turbulent earth to face the final reality, one too daunting to even contemplate.

Healthwise, I had been in a fine fettle for a better part of my existence. Save for the occasional bouts of migraine, life had been one long stretch of robustness and salubrity. Until recently.

It all began some months ago with painful pricklings in my left hand. It got me worried because I'm a southpaw and any weakening of the left hand would definitely affect my total well-being.

A visit to the doctor 'fixed' that. It was carpal tunnel syndrome and medication has eased it somewhat. Every now and then the pins and needles return, but it's ok; I'm 56 after all.

Now comes the more serious part. Last week I woke up to an extremely painful right knee. Worse, the entire right leg could hardly move; it felt as though the bones were made of lead.

I have been limping since. And for the first time in my life, I have to do my solat (prayer) sitting on a chair because the knee can only be bent a teeny weeny fraction; tahayyatul (prostration and resting the derriere on one's heels) sitting is well nigh impossible.

Excruciating as the pain may be, I'm not complaining but just sharing, especially with the young ones, the trials and tribulations of getting on in the years.

The doctor suspects osteo-arthritis; an x-ray awaits in Damansara Specialist Centre. I have seen the effects of this affliction and it's not pretty.

While not life-threatening, it can lead to the crippling of one's fingers and joints. And that's one hell of a scary thought for someone like me whose life revolves around writing/typing.

Whatever the case, He knows best...

14 comments:

mamasita said...

Ameen..
May Allah swt guides us all on the path to heaven.

Hei..cepat2 get well..limping2 memang tanda tua lah..I have been so for quite some time.
But we always persevere and try to walk macam orang muda. :)

hazeleyed lady said...

Ass-Salam Sis
Wishing you for the best of health.
... have always bee an active and almost free from any health problems...until recently...
The prize i have to pay for being in that comfort zone...and 'made dunno'to a slight problem i faced years ago

NanaDJ said...

Puteri,
I learn to live with the aches and pains, after all I am very far ahead of you in ages. I need to use special pillow for sleeping now due to spondylitis. I find taking GNC Triflex ( incorporating Glucosamine, Chondroitin and MSM) help to ease joint pains and promotes joint mobility. I also take Celery tablets. Doing Tai Chi and taking regular walk does help too.
See to the knee and do something about it quickly before it worsen.

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Aunty Puteri,
Here I am sending you a virtual massage...hmmm.... cakar kucing tau, not cakar harimau! Oh, "tuam" that knee with hot towel helps ease the pain a bit too. Mama has been going for acupuncture treatment, helps a lot. roar! roar! roar!

Zendra-Maria said...

Thank you for sharing kama - for those of us whom Allah has not YET bestowed reminders like these, i'm telling myself buatlah all those sembahyang sunat banyak-banyak sebelum i jadikan sakit-sakit as an excuse - or regret not doing them ketika masih sehat wal afiat...

I pray your pain will ease

(FYI my mum had excruciating pain in her thigh, an x-ray revealed the root cause being a pinched nerve in her spine, as for her wonky knee - she gets "grease" injected there once in a while)

Bergen said...

Cage: osteo-arthritis is pretty common these days among people of our generation. You're lucky. I know 40 something folks who got it and it's pretty sad to see them pray the way you do.

Whatever pain we got is a form of cleansing so it's good for us. So be thankful.

Kama At-Tarawis said...

mamasita - hehehe, now cannot even pretend to walk briskly macam orang muda..

hazel - ta dear. tu la, this 'make dunno' business boleh makan diri. sometimes i too am guilty of such.

nana - patutla you look hale and hearty to me; i am definitely taking a leaf from you on how to jaga myself..

cat - the doctor gave some heating cream which i think works on the same principle as 'tuam'. you rub it around the knee and after a while the joints relax a bit.

zen - it's always good to beringat sebelum terkena kan..

bergen - i'm with you there, bergen; i do believe it's a form of cleansing. syukur alhamdulillah ke atas apa saja yang Allah bagi, good or bad.

Tommy Yewfigure said...

Geee Puteri, u so mean wan, I’d totally blocked all these old people woes to the back of my mind & now u’d sort of brought them back up again. Ouch!!! I can feel them all coming back now with a vengeance….hahaha.

No lah actually, I’m quite good for a ‘mature’ bloke, touch wood for now. I’d been on fish oil tablets, multi-vitamins, glucosamine, & calcium tablet regimen for the last 10 or so years & it does help. One cup of coffee kurang manis in the morning & for the rest of the day, green tea & lots of mineral water, so all in all I’m still quite healthy, thank god for that.

You take care, ya. It's never too late to try those supplements I'd mentioned above.

Tommy

P/S – I’m fully aware that eventually I’ll get my fair share of all those ailments & maybe more & they’ll hit me all in one go but I hope it won’t be so soon.

Tommy Yewfigure said...

oh one more thing, I have a mug of warm honey water & 2 more tablets of fish oil before I retire each night.Kiasu big time??

Kama At-Tarawis said...

Tommy - you're very disciplined tommy.. i'm nowhere near you in terms of taking supplements and stuffs.. I really gotta start now... i have always been one of those 'devil may care' type.. now it's paying dividends lah.. :(

Kak Teh said...

Puteri, yesterday a friend stopped by on her way back to the US. She kindly brought for me some Tiger Balm, last week, Anna Nash was here and gave me some ointments. Isnt this an indication as well? Dulu2 our discussion and gifts would be perfume and cosmetics! Now dalam bag ada minyak angin and minyak urat.

لف توف™ said...

I'll bet all my toolang (money I have a little) that your "big house standing on thin stilts" contributes much to your OA knee joints painful sensation.
So, the most important thing to do is to watch your weight (for long term measure). Lose weight, live life.

luahfikiran said...

Salam Kak Puteri,

Di peringkat usia kita ini, macam-macam penyakit datang menumpang. Sudah tak ada yg manis-manis kecuali kencing manis. Tetapi apapun kita tetap bersyukur kpd Allah kerana keadan kesihatan kita lebih baik daripada sesetengah rakan kita. Kita masih boleh bergerak walaupun perlahan dan kesakitan. Tetapi ada sahabat2 kita yang terlantar di atas katil.

Saje nak cerita di sini. Penyakit kak puteri lebih kurang sama dgn apa yang sedang LF alami sekarang ini (OA). Kedua-dua lutut sakit bila bergerak. Tidak boleh berdiri lama, tidak boleh berjalan jauh dan mesti duduk menggunakan kerusi tinggi (kerusi makan). Sudah menjalani macam2 rawatan. Pernah disuntik cecair beberapa kali (aduh sakitnya) dan juga pernah ditebuk lubang (masukkan kamera) dan dicuci bahagian dlm lutut. Doktor cadangkan (the last thing to do, katanya) TKR (total knee replacement). Anak saya (seorang doktor) mahukan LF menjalani TKR. Tetapi enggan kerana melihat ada beberapa orang sahabat yang terpaksa guna kerusi roda selepas pembedahan. Apapun ramai juga kawan2 yang berjaya dan hilang rasa sakit kecuali tak boleh duduk bersila. Di samping keizinan Allah, kejayaan TKR bergantung kpd kesanggupan dan kesungguhan kita melakukan terapi fizikal selepas pembedahan. Biasanya 4-5 bulan berulang-alik ke hospital. LF percaya kak puteri boleh melakukan semua ini, insyaAllah.

Maaf, panjang sikit catatan LF ni. Sengaja nak kongsi pengalaman.

Kama At-Tarawis said...

Kak Teh - hehehe, I'm reminded of an old teacher friend from Perlis who teased his wife (they'd been married for decades): "masa mula2 kawin dulu masuk bilik semerbak bau perfume. naik semangat aku.. la ni bau minyak angin ajer laa..."

Laptop - nice description, lap.. rumah besaq tiang kecik.. memang being overweight contributes to the problem too..

LF - Ya Allah, tulisan LF ni menggerunkan kama. tapi sekurang2nya kama tau sejauh mana osteo arthritis boleh affect kita perjalanan hidup kita. sakitnya LF, kalau kena operation macam tu! thanks for sharing, though.